A Tale of Two Doctors

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m The Doctor.” It replied.

“No you’re not-I am!”

They both spoke in unison this time.

“Okay…that was weird…” The Doctor muttered.

“Unless…” he glanced back up at the creature.

“Are you a Changeling?”

There was only silence.

“I’ll take that as ‘yes’ which brings me to my next question; why are you here?”

The Changeling Doctor cocked its head.

“If you were here to kill or capture me, you would have done so earlier, either in the form of someone I recognized or as a complete stranger like that mare I ran into earlier to throw me off my guard, which means you’re here for something else now tell me-why the charade?”

It began reverting back to its true form which wasn’t too different from any other Changeling with the exception of a white scar over its left eye.

“Ponies distrust all Changelings…and for good reason after Chrysalis’ failed attempt on taking Canterlot during the wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor...some of them already knew about us but after that, they became more alert.” Its voice was definitely male and it sounded quite raspy.

“But, you’re different?” The Doctor asked, wondering if this kind of voice was typical of Changeling drones or if this was just a unique trait of the one he was speaking to…like his scar.

“I was there…” he placed a hoof over his scar. “That’s how I got this; contrary to popular belief not all Changelings enjoy what we do…tearing families, friends, and lovers apart to feed on their emotions, but we do it anyway for sustenance…our Queen....”

The Doctor noted that he spat the word with much contempt.

“She tells us…brainwashes us, really into believing that without feasting on those emotions of romantic and platonic love that our bodies will begin to deteriorate and wither into lifeless husks…and during the assault on Canterlot, while I did not enjoy what I did…I thought it necessary to preserve the lives of my brothers and sisters.”

“What about your scar?”

“I got when it seemed as if victory had been all, but assured; every filly, colt, foal, mare, and stallion had been subdued and the royal guards were powerless to stop us-we had set up a trap for those who would foolishly search for the Elements of Harmony in a last ditch effort to stop our attack-which, succeeded as we were able to bring the six Element bearers to our Queen as hostages…that was when she just had to do her stupid monologue…giving Twilight Sparkle the chance to escape and free Cadance.”

“What happened next?”

“Oh, I think you know…but, I’ll tell because the fallout is where things really get interesting; Shining Armor and Cadance united, sharing a deep and powerful magic that Chrysalis could never have foreseen, let alone understand and the resulting shockwave expelled every Changeling from the area…do you know what that power was.”

“Love?”

“Yes.”

“But, why would it hurt you if you could just feed on love?” asked The Doctor.

“Because feeding on another’s love is like exposing yourself to a drug…you feel good, powerful…but then, you get addicted to it and it consumes your entire existence…and that single blast was like an overdose…many of my brothers and sisters died that day.”

“I still don’t see what you’re-”

“I’m getting to it!” The Changeling snapped, annoyed.

“Anyway, that blast is how I got the souvenir your were asking about earlier and after we landed, seeing the dead, broken bodies of the ones I grew up with…I felt something…a rage that was almost blinding…I stormed into her new ‘chambers’ and called her out on her incompetence and before I knew it, I was screaming in her face about all of the Changelings that had put their faith in her and her promises of food only to end up dead or crippled.”

“So what happened?”

“She laughed.”

“What?”

“She laughed in my face, telling me that there never was any food…that was just a convenient lie…the love we feasted on only made us more malleable to her commands…more complacent, so we wouldn’t question orders…I never did it for myself, so I rarely fed.”

“But, why would she tell you all of this?”

“You know…” he sighed. “I asked her the very same thing and she said that I had nowhere else to go, that no one would be willing to help…or even listen to me after what we did…and I realized she was right, at that moment the only one I hated more than myself for believing in her lies was her, our beloved Queen.”

“So you want revenge?” The Doctor concluded.

“Yes, but not for myself…for my fallen brothers or sisters…for all of the lives we took and destroyed because of her lies.”

“But, why would it be so surprising to her?”

“Huh?”

“Shining Armor and Cadance’s spell-if she feeds on love-then shouldn’t she have known a spell like that would exist?”

“Actually, despite all the love she tries to feed on our ‘Queen’ knows surprisingly little about the subject…which it kind of ironic when you think about it…she’s completely incapable of feeling those emotions herself.”

“Did you ask her about that as well?”

“Yes, she had no idea what happened and it’s probably still driving her crazy trying to figure it out…but I did.”

“Figure what out?” The Doctor pressed.

“There’s a Seventh Element of Harmony; Love-and it’s only possessed by Shining Armor-he was only able to use it without uniting with the other Elements for two reasons; it doesn’t truly have a physical representation and the only way that power could manifest itself was through the desire to protect the ones he loves and who was in the room with him?”

“Cadance, Twilight, and Celestia.” The Doctor recalled.

“That’s right; the three mares he’s devoted his entire life to protecting.”